Soundtrack Review: Skyfall (2012)

Skyfall Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the film score Skyfall by Thomas Newman.

“That was unexpected but what a fun surprise!”

Skyfall is the latest adventure from the world’s most popular spy James Bond. Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. The film is directed by Sam Mendes and starring Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris and Daniel Craig as James Bond. The score is composed by Thomas Newman.

Track List

1. Grand Bazaar, Istanbul	100
2. Voluntary Retirement	80
3. New Digs	80
4. Severine	60
5. Brave New World	80
6. Shanghai Drive	80
7. Jellyfish	80
8. Silhouette	100
9. Modigliani	80
10. Day Wasted	80
11. Quartermaster	80
12. Someone Usually Dies	60
13. Komodo Dragon	60
14. The Bloody Shot	100
15. Enjoying Death	60
16. The Chimera	80
17. Close Shave	60
18. Health & Safety	80
19. Granborough Road	80
20. Tennyson	60
21. Enquiry	80
22. Breadcrumbs	100
23. Skyfall	60
24. Kill Them First	60
25. Welcome To Scotland	100
26. She’s Mine	100
27. The Moors	100
28. Deep Water	60
29. Mother	80
30. Adrenaline	80
31. Old Dog, New Tricks	60

So yeah, James Bond and Thomas Newman. Is there anyone who didn’t see that coming? I sure didn’t, but one thing was for certain, that’s one score I was looking forward to. It could be great or it could be a disaster, but hearing Newman’s take on Bond is something special. What surprised me is how Bond-ish it actually sounds at times. I was expecting a little bit more Newman and less Bond, but he has somehow managed to please two camps and I have a foot in both. I was just getting used to David Arnold and I liked his recent scores quite a bit. With Newman you can hear that he has taken the job seriously with an excellent Bond-ish opening cue ‘Grand Bazaar, Istanbul’.

There are cues here which is superbly Bond like ‘Breadcrumbs’. Sure, almost everything here is not due to Newman’s writing, and we heard it all before but I love to hear it in a Bond film score. Who said Thomas Newman can’t write action cues? I’m sure a lot of people thought that, but he proves us all wrong with the hectic ‘The Bloody shot’ which admittedly starts slow-ish, but the pulse increases with each instrument. It completely takes off and I just don’t want it to end. Then you have ‘Welcome To Scotland’ which is just as frantic and lots of fun. Then you have totally Thomas Newman-ish sequences such as the beginning ‘Quartermaster’.

Conclusion

Well Mr. Newman, that was unexpected but what a fun surprise! This is definitely a Bond score, and quite a bit of Newman as well, but if you don’t listen hard, you’ll never notice. I am happy to say that this Bond score delivers and totally deserves some praise.

GEEK SCORE: 78